Judge Denny Chin Honored at Portrait Dedication Ceremony

On June 14, Brooklyn
Technical High School held a Portrait Dedication Ceremony for the Honorable Judge Denny Chin. Among those present were AABANY President-Elect James Cho and Past
President Vincent Chang for this special occasion.

Judge Chin was the first Asian American appointed to
the Second Circuit. He was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Stuyvesant
High School. Judge Chin also teaches legal writing at Fordham Law School.

Judge Chin’s portrait will be placed in Brooklyn
Tech’s Moot Court Room where it will join the portraits of Justice Thurgood Marshall and Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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Join the Japanese American Association of New York and Hoshuko Alumni Association Young Professional Mixer!

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For
a great blend of summertime fun and business, please consider joining a
networking mixer for Young
Professionals on Tuesday, June 25th, organized by JAA, the Japanese American Association
of New York
, and HAA, the
Hoshuko Alumni Association.

Come
meet other Young Professionals and mentors in the JAA and HAA community who are
established in the fields of media, PR, communications, arts & fashion, and
cuisine.  Representatives from Thomson Reuters, the Japanese Consulate’s
Japan Information Center, Japanese corporations, T.I.C. Group and Sun Noodles,
among others will be present to mingle with at the Flora Bar of the in Met Breuer.

We
look forward to seeing you there!

Please send RSVPs to [email protected].

NAPABA Congratulates Jessie K. Liu on Nomination to be the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia

For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017

For More Information, Contact:
Brett Schuster, Communications Manager

[email protected], 202-775-9555

WASHINGTON — On
Monday, President Trump announced the nomination of Jessie K. Liu to be
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. If confirmed, Liu
would be the first Asian Pacific American and the second woman to serve
as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

“We
congratulate Jessie K. Liu on her nomination to serve as the United
States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” said Cyndie M. Chang,
president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
(NAPABA). “An experienced and respected attorney with a record of
leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice, Ms. Liu has demonstrated
the ability to lead the U.S. Attorney’s office. We are encouraged to see
Asian Pacific American women like Ms. Liu continue to break barriers
and serve as role models.”

A
longtime member of the Asian Pacific American legal community, Liu
served as a co-chair of the 2012 NAPABA Convention in Washington, D.C.
She is also a recipient of the NAPABA Best Under 40 Award.

A
litigator with almost 20 years of experience, Ms. Liu has a history of
federal government service. She is presently the Deputy General Counsel
for the Department of the Treasury. She previously served as an
Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia for four years and
in several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Justice for three
years, including as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil
Rights Division, counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, and Deputy
Chief of Staff for the National Security Division. She also was a
partner at the law firms Morrison & Foerster LLP and Jenner &
Block LLP.

Ms.
Liu clerked for then-Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, Texas. She received her
A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard University and her J.D. from Yale Law School.

NAPABA commends President Trump for announcing the nomination of Jessie K. Liu to serve as the U.S. Attorney.

The
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the
national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law
professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of almost
50,000 attorneys and approximately 75 national, state, and local Asian
Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo
practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and
non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.

         

NAPABA
continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting
Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of
committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased
diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal
opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and
anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of
people of color in the legal profession.

Free Legal Services at the Legal Pit Stop Clinic!

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The next Legal Pit Stop is fast approaching. The clinic intends to reach a broader range of small business owners who lack the time, expertise or income to address their specific legal needs. 

The “Legal Pit Stop” legal advice clinic will be held on Monday, June 26th from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Pillsbury LLP’s offices in Times Square (1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036), with appointments beginning at both 5:30pm and 6:30pm.

Please register at: https://www.tfaforms.com/4618359

Volunteer attorneys will be on hand  to advise on the following legal topics: sales tax, business insurance, entity choice, contract and commercial lease review, corporate governance, and corporate risk assessment. The Legal Pit Stop does not have business stage requirements, but each business candidate must receive less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Press Release: NAPABA Applauds Ninth Circuit Decision Upholding Block on Revised Muslim Ban

For Immediate Release
June 12, 2017

Contact: Brett Schuster, Communications Manager, [email protected], 202-775-9555

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauds the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s per curiam ruling
maintaining a lower court’s block on President Trump’s March 6, 2017,
revised executive order barring individuals from six Muslim-majority
countries and refugees from entering the United States.

In
March 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson of the District
of Hawaii issued a preliminary injunction on the travel restrictions in
this lawsuit, State of Hawaii v. Trump, which was brought by the state and individuals impacted by the executive order.

Today’s
unanimous Ninth Circuit opinion affirmed the plaintiffs’ right to
challenge the executive order and upheld their statutory claims under
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The court agreed with the
plaintiffs’ assertion that the President’s broad authority on the entry
of foreign individuals has constraints, and that the executive order
exceeds the scope of the authority delegated to the President by
Congress under the INA, including the statute’s prohibition against
nationality-based discrimination.

On April 21, NAPABA filed an amicus brief
in support of the plaintiffs, supported by 43 NAPABA affiliates, after
joining this first challenge to the revised executive order with an
amicus brief filed in the district court. NAPABA’s briefs describe the
history of the statutory exclusion of Asians and Pacific Islanders under
early U.S. immigration law — including the first federal law to ban a
group of people from entering the country on the basis of race — prior
to the passage of the INA of 1965, which outlawed nationality-based
discrimination. NAPABA argued that President Trump’s revised order, with
its anti-Muslim underpinnings, violates this unambiguous prohibition on
discrimination established by Congress.

NAPABA
awaits the decision on the government’s petitions to the Supreme Court
in both this case and the parallel case from the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit, International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump, and will continue to work to ensure the executive order is permanently struck down by the courts.

Read NAPABA’s amicus briefs in the Fourth and Ninth Circuits and before the district court here.

Read the March 6, 2017, statement of NAPABA and the South Asian Bar Association – North America, joined by 14 affiliates, against the revised executive order.

The
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the
national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law
professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of almost
50,000 attorneys and approximately 75 national, state, and local Asian
Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo
practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and
non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.

           

NAPABA
continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting
Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of
committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased
diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal
opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and
anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of
people of color in the legal profession.

Press Release: AABANY Congratulates Board Member Lawrence Wee on Receiving Award as One of the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business

Press Release: AABANY Congratulates Board Member Lawrence Wee on Receiving Award as One of the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business

AABANY Wins Third Place at the Battle of the Bars Trivia Night!

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On Tuesday, June
8th, AABANY’s Young Lawyers Committee participated in a Battle of the Bars: Trivia Night, along with thirteen other bar associations in the New York metropolitan area. In a spirited night of pub trivia,
we are proud to announce that AABANY came in third place in the
competition. As a prize for this victorious win, a donation was made to a legal charity
of AABANY’s choice – the Don H. Liu Scholars Program. We are extremely proud of our team effort and thank all the members of AABANY team that night.

Congratulations to LeGal for finishing first and the Brooklyn Bar for winning second place! Thanks to AABANY Young Lawyer Committee Co-Chair Tiffany Miao and Frank Francis of Severance Burko Spalter Masone PC for coordinating the trivia night. 

We would also to thank the following sponsors for making the event possible:


Write-up by AABANY Intern Quentin Wong.